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Top Stories in Science
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July 2006 Issue |
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| [D] Defence and security |  |
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Bird flu vaccine In Australia, researchers have begun a trial to test the effectiveness of a new H5N1 vaccine following encouraging results in early trials. And, in the US, scientists at St Jude Children's Research Hospital have announced that a vaccine they developed a few years ago against one antigenic H5N1 variant may protect humans against future variants of the virus. However, in Paris, at the First International Conference on Avian Influenza, there was pessimism that a successful vaccine can be developed soon - vaccine trials so far have shown that large doses are needed to provide protection, whilst at the same time vaccine produced from H5N1 has proved particularly difficult to grow into large quantities. [D][H]
Flu vaccine production Researchers at Michigan State University say they have found a cell line that would grow almost every type of flu virus: avian, swine, equine and human. This should enable vaccine to be produced in much greater quantities by infecting the cells with the required flu strains and then growing the virus in large bioreactors. The hope is that this might help overcome the problems of producing large quantities of H5N1 vaccine. [D][H]
Big brother effect A study at Newcastle University found that people put nearly three times as much money into an "honesty box" - for payment for refreshments - when they were being watched by a pair of eyes on a poster, compared with a poster that featured an image of flowers. The findings that even the image of eyes has this psychological effect may help in curbing anti-social behaviour or in law enforcement. - perhaps in areas such as payment for public transport, road safety and traffic signs, and the general issue of behaviour in public places. [D][B][E][V]
Suicide bombing A suicide attack can represents a rational and strategic approach to politics according to research in 2005. However, in the case of the current Palestinian uprising against Israel that began in 2000, the motivation for suicide attacks appears to be primarily irrational revenge and retaliation. The researchers collected data on 138 attacks, culled from existing databases, Hebrew and Arabic newspapers and the New York Times. They then mined the database for 128 variables, examining individual motives, organizational rationales and events that led up to each attack. [D][B][X]
War and personality Past research has shown that mentally healthy people can have highly optimistic predictions, or “positive illusions”. This over-optimism may have offered an evolutionary advantage in the past, allowing our ancestors to cope with adversity and bluff opponents. However, in the present world, it may wreak havoc on international relations, according to researchers at Princeton. They conducted wargame simulations involving a total of 200 players and found that overconfident people are more likely to wage war but fare worse in the ensuing battles. People with higher self-rankings at the start of the game came out worse off at the end of the game. People, whether male or female, who made unprovoked attacks tended particularly to have a high level of narcissism - a trait that is also characteristic of political leaders. [D][B][C][K][X]
Prejudice and dehumanisation Brain imaging studies at Princeton have provided evidence that, while an individual may consciously see members of social out-groups as people, his or her brain processes social out-groups as something less than human, whether he or she is consciously aware of this or not. The researchers found that when experimental subjects viewed a picture of people that elicited disgust, no significant brain activity occurred in their medial pre-frontal cortex (MPFC). This showed that the brain was perceiving the people as non-human - unable to experience complex human emotions, share in-group beliefs, or act according to societal norms, moral rules, and values. [D][B][X]
City security The City of London, which generates 4 percent of UK GDP, is protected by one of the world's most sophisticated security systems. The so-called ring of steel, inaugurated in 1998, is a network of cameras that provides comprehensive video coverage of a large part of the City. Every vehicle entering the area is photographed, its licence plate checked against a national police database, and an image of its driver stored for posterity. According to the police, this system has had a dramatic effect on crime in this environment. Now other cities, beginning with New York, are planning to introduce similar systems. [D][E][R][T][X]
Catastrophe response According to a report by the US Department of Homeland Security, the US is not adequately prepared to cope with a large-scale terrorist attack or a powerful hurricane. The Nationwide Plan Review, ordered after the New Orleans hurricane, examined whether the emergency plans of cities and states were adequate to manage another such tragedy. Several areas, including evacuation, attention to populations with special needs, command structure and resource management, were found to need significant improvement. [D][E][H][I][P][R][X] |
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| [A] Aeronautics and space | |
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Air travel and global warming Air travel increases global warming not only through carbon emissions but also because of the formation of contrails. A study at the University of Reading has examine the factors affecting how severe contrail warming is. The results show that night flights between 6pm and 6am, which make up a quarter of total air traffic, contributed between 60 and 80 percent of the annual warming. Winter flights, which represent 22 percent of the yearly total, contributed half of the annual warming. This is largely because contrails are more likely to form between December and February when air humidity is higher. [A][E][P]
Reducing aircraft emissions The Advisory Council on Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) set out in its Vision 2020 report that there should be a 50 percent reduction in aircraft carbon dioxide emissions and factor of two reduction in noise. This very ambitious target is addressed particularly through the proposed Clear Skies project under the EU Framework 7. But other existing European research projects are also contributing. [A][E][M][P][T][W]
Blimp-based telescopes High-tech blimps could provide Hubble-like views of the sky at a small fraction of the cost of a space-based mission, a new study concludes. Several companies, including Lockheed Martin, have been developing solar-powered blimps that pilot themselves and could remain aloft for months or even years at a time, at altitudes of 20 km or higher, above 95 percent of the atmosphere. A 0.5-metre-wide mirror on such a platform would provide crisper images over a large field of view than any ground-based observatory. Although blimp-based telescopes would not be able to image very faint objects, they would be especially good at imaging objects that span a large region of the sky. [A][R][U]
Space-based repair Tests during an extended spacewalk suggest that future astronauts may be able to inspect and repair the shuttle's heat shield while in space by dangling on the end of a 30-metre-long robotic arm on the shuttle. [A][U]
Space weather The most true-to-life computer simulation ever made of the Sun's multi-million-degree outer atmosphere, the corona, has successfully predicted its actual appearance during a solar eclipse. Scientists said the research marks the beginning of a new era in space weather prediction, and in a decade or so it should be possible to routinely predict space weather and individual coronal mass ejections (CMEs) using a computer model of the Sun. [A][C][E][I][P][R]
STEREO mission NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), to be launched in summer 2006, will provide a 3D view of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This should provide much better understanding of these events and better forecasting of the consequent geomagnetic storms. STEREO will consist of two almost identical satellites - one positioned ahead of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun, the other behind. By making measurements in all three dimensions, STEREO will be able to make far more accurate predictions of the evolution of material from a CME. A suite of visible and ultraviolet imagers aboard the spacecraft will track the 3D evolution of CMEs from their origin at the solar surface, through the corona, and via the interplanetary medium to their eventual intersection with the Earth. These measurements will include an estimate of the volume of the CME bubble, which provides an indication of the size of the initial explosion and therefore how much energy it will dump in the Earth's magnetosphere. [A][I][P][R]
Life on Mars The dark coating on desert rocks, known as desert varnish, creates a record of life around it by binding traces of DNA, amino acids and other organic compounds, according to researchers at Imperial College London. They suggest that samples of Martian desert varnish might reveal whether there has been life on Mars at any stage over the last 4.5 billion years. [A] |
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| [U] Unmanned vehicles and robotics | |
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Police UAVs A prototype unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is being tested over Los Angeles by local police who are evaluating it for tasks such as finding missing children and lost hikers, surveying a fire zone, and catching suspects fleeing on foot or hiding on rooftops. The drone comes equipped with low-light and infrared vision and can fly at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour for 70 minutes at a time. The hope eventually is to reduce the demand for manned helicopters. The future use of UAVs presents issues of safety and privacy. [U][A][R]
Autonomous robot teams Teams of autonomous flying and ground-based robots have successfully cooperated to search for and locate targets in the streets of a realistic urban warfare training ground in the US. This is a significant demonstration that heterogeneous teams of autonomous robots can be used in search and rescue efforts and military operations. [U][A][D][E][R]
Social self-learning robots Most research on intelligent machine-machine or machine-human interaction has centred on programming the machine with a set of predefined rules. Now, European researchers are developing technology that can allow machines to evolve their own language from their experiences of interacting with their environment and cooperating with other devices. This technology, dubbed Embedded and Communicating Agents, has allowed Sony researchers in France to add a new level of intelligence to the AIBO dog, allowing the robotic pet to learn new tricks and share its knowledge with others. It has also been used by researchers in Lausanne to enable hordes of small wheeled robots to learn how to communicate, cooperate and self-organise to perform tasks that would be too complicated for a single robot. [U][K][V]
3-D machine vision Researchers at Carnegie Mellon say they have now found a way to help computers understand the geometric context of outdoor scenes. Using machine learning techniques and real-world constraints, they taught computers how to spot the visual cues that differentiate between vertical surfaces and horizontal surfaces in photographs of outdoor scenes - and even to automatically generate 3-D reconstructions based on a single image. [U][K][R][V]
Paper-based robots and actuators Electroactive paper that bends when an electric field is applied across it has been developed by researchers in the US and South Korea. It is made from ordinary cotton-based paper coated on each side with a thin layer of gold. The bending is partly piezoelectric and partly occurs because the applied field causes sodium ions in the paper to move towards the negative electrode. These ions carry water molecules with them and make that side of the paper expand. The researchers hope to use the electroactive paper for propelling and controlling robots, including swarms of paper-based UAVs. [U][A][M][P][V]
Artificial muscle Artificial muscles work in many ways. Temperature-sensitive artificial muscles exploiting shape memory materials are used in products such as automatic shut-off valves in showerheads and teakettles, medical stents, and pipe couplings and fasteners. Voltage changes activate other artificial-muscle materials, including rubberlike elastomers, electrically conductive polymers, and flat strips made of carbon nanotubes. Less mature than their shape-memory cousins, these materials still come with certain drawbacks. Some require high operating voltages, and some operate slowly. Now researchers are developing artificial muscles that draw their power directly from chemical reactions, like biological muscles. [U][H][M][N][P][T][V] |
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| [P] Propulsion and energy | |
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Low emission combustor Georgia Tech researchers have created a new combustor with very low emission of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO). The project’s initial goal was to develop a low emissions combustor for aircraft engines and power-generating gas turbines that must stably burn large amounts of fuel in a small volume over a wide range of power settings. Whereas a traditional combustor mixes fuel and air before they are injected into the combustion chamber, the new combustor injects the fuel and air separately. The researchers say that the simpler design could be manufactured and maintained at a much lower cost, and can be adapted for use in many applications, including something as small as a water heater in a home. [P][E][M]
EU energy policy Europe needs an integrated energy strategy that gives equal weight to energy security, competitiveness and environmental sustainability, according to a new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Tracking key trends between 1990 and 2003, the report finds that technological advances are not coping with increasing energy use, particularly in transport and electricity. The report calls for increased R&D funding to support technologies from the drawing board, right through to market commercialisation and widespread deployment. The EEA says that greenhouse gas emissions in the EU rose by 18 million tonnes (0.4 per cent) between 2003 and 2004. The sectors with the largest increases were industry and transport. The only countries which actually managed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from 2003 to 2004 were Germany, Denmark and Finland. [P][A][D][E][T]
Energy technology strategy At the Gleneagles summit in 2005, G-8 leaders called upon the International Energy Agency to provide advice on scenarios and strategies for a clean and secure energy future. The IEA has now published its report, which reviews in detail the status and prospects of key energy technologies in electricity generation, buildings, industry and transport. Major strategic elements of a successful portfolio are energy efficiency, carbon dioxide capture and storage, renewables and nuclear power. [P][A][D][E][T]
Policies for energy-efficient lighting Nineteen percent of global electricity generation is taken for lighting, at a cost of around 1 percent of world GDP, according to the first global survey of lighting uses and costs. This electricity consumption is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to 70 percent of those from the world’s cars. The study, published by the International Energy Agency, is in response to a mandate by the G8 Gleneagles Plan of Action (July 2005). It warns that, unless there is rapid action and new lighting policies, consumption is set to increase by 80 percent by 2030. [P][E][O][T]
Superconducting electricity grid As demands for electricity increase, utilities cannot simply pump more power through existing high-voltage lines by ramping up the voltages and currents. At about one million volts, the electric fields tear insulation off the wires, causing arcs and short circuits. And higher currents will heat the lines, which could then sag dangerously close to trees and structures. One possibility, discussed in the July issue of Scientific American, is to create a superconducting grid. Superconducting conduits using hydrogen as their cryogenic coolant could be connected into a "SuperGrid" that would deliver not only electrical power but also hydrogen fuel for the hydrogen economy. [P][E][M][T]
Floating nuclear power station Russia is to build the world's first floating nuclear plant, designed to provide power for remote locations in the Arctic. The plant will be built at an Arctic site that also builds nuclear submarines. [P][D][E]
Seismic oil extraction Earthquakes, which can damage property and make life difficult above ground, appear to ease fluid flow through the rock under ground. The enhanced permeability could be artificially induced with seismic wave generators to help extract oil from natural reservoirs. [P][E][M]
Super-black solar cells Flat silicon surfaces are highly reflecting and this reduces the efficiency of solar cells. Anti-reflection coatings can reduce the average reflection by around 88 percent. Now German researchers have developed a cheap process to create nanometre-scale pits and bumps on the silicon surface that can reduce the reflection by 95 to 98 percent. This could improve the efficiency of solar cells by 15 to 20 percent. [P][N]
Biomass fuel As a result of recent advances in biotechnology, it is now feasible to produce ethanol economically from cellulose. The US Department of Energy has now has set a goal of displacing 30 percent of the 2004 US gasoline demand with biofuels, primarily ethanol, by 2030. This means expanding the US fuel ethanol industry from about 4 billion gallons of corn grain ethanol to about 60 billion gallons per year from a variety of plant materials. The DOE has published a road map that identifies the research required for developing large-scale production, including maximizing biomass feedstock productivity, developing better processes by which to break down cellulosic materials into sugars, and optimizing the fermentation process to convert sugars to ethanol. [P][E][G][T]
Biomass fuel The first comprehensive analysis of the full life cycles of soybean biodiesel and corn grain ethanol shows that when all costs are factored in, corn-based ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by only about 12 percent compared to gasoline. In contrast, biodiesel reduces emissions by 41 percent over diesel fuel, largely because it does not need distillation to be processed into fuel. Also, far fewer fertilisers and pesticides are used in growing soybeans, giving biodiesel a further edge in reducing environmental impact. [P][E]
Compact tidal generator At Southampton University, researchers have developed a simple tidal generator that avoids the need for complex gearboxes and for moving the entire assembly to face the flow of the water. In the Southampton design, the turbine blades can turn equally well, regardless of which way the water flows past them. The blades are placed in a specially shaped housing that helps channel the water smoothly through the turbine. Everything is wrapped in a single package that can be prefabricated to reduce on-site construction costs. [P][E] |
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| [M] Materials, structures and surfaces | |
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Carbonia By heating solid carbon dioxide in a diamond anvil at of pressures over 400,000 atmospheres, Italian scientists have produced carbonia - a glassy material that has a similar structure to amorphous silica or germania but appears to be much harder and stiffer, more like diamond. If a way could be found to stabilise the material at room temperature and atmospheric pressure it might not only be a useful coating material and ultra-tough glass, but might even lead to a way of storing or disposing of carbon dioxide gas. [M][E][P]
High performance plastics The quest for greater fuel efficiency is boosting the use of high performance plastics in cars. [M][E][P][T]
High temperature superconductivity In conventional superconductors, phonons - vibrations in the materials' atomic lattice - mediate the pairing of electrons that results in the zero electrical resistance. However, phonons are not thought to play a role in high temperature superconductivity. Instead, US researchers now report strong evidence that the electron pairing is due to magnetic fluctuations and that this is probably a universal mechanism in high temperature superconductors. [M][P]
Peptide surfactants By enabling control of emulsions and foams, new peptide surfactant technology could transform many industries and revolutionise oil extraction, according to researchers in Australia. In oil production, where water is used to force oil to the surface of the well, the peptide surfactants would allow much easier separation of the oil/water emulsion on the surface and could also change the viscosity of the oil underground to increase the amount of oil that can be extracted from each oil reservoir. [M][N][P]
Anti-corrosion bacterial coatings A layer of living bacteria could protect metal structures against corrosion and reduce the environmental damage caused by conventional protective coatings. Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University have shown that a gel containing the bacteria Pseudomonas fragi and Paenibacillus polymyxa can protect stainless steel and aluminium alloy submerged in water. Researchers from the University of Southern California have tested the bacteria Shewanella oneidensis, also known as MR-1, on aluminium, zinc, steel, copper and brass, and found that the results for brass and copper were comparable to covering the metal with a protective plastic. [M][E][G]
Silicon Velcro An exotic form of silicon that can be stuck together and then peeled apart has been developed by German researchers. The material could be used to manufacture microprocessors and microfluidic devices. The researchers used high-energy ions to etch the silicon surface so that it bristled with around 1 million silicon needles per square millimetre, each about 15 to 25 microns long. They found that two surfaces covered with the bristle material adhere when pressed together. This is because the needles on each surface jam in between one another. [M][J][N][S]
Tissue engineering Research at Bristol University has shown that knee cartilage injuries can be effectively repaired by tissue engineering and that even if the damage has progressed to osteoarthritis this does not stop the regeneration process. This treatment could greatly reduce the need for knee joint replacement. [M][H][N] |
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| [E] Environment, transport and marine | |
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Arctic sea levels Ocean waters across the world have on average been rising by 3.2 mm per year since 1992. But, in the Arctic they have been falling by a little over 2 mm a year, according to radar altimetry data gathered by Europe's ERS-2 satellite. Why this is happening is not understood, but may be linked to changes in the temperature and salinity of Arctic waters. [E][R]
Climate change in the tropics For the first time, glaciologists have combined and compared sets of ancient climate records that are trapped in ice cores from the South American Andes and the Asian Himalayas. This has enabled them find out how climate has changed in the tropics. Their conclusions show a massive climate shift to a cooler regime that occurred just over 5,000 years ago and a rapid change to a warmer regime that is occurring now. The study also found that while all of the glaciers that were measured throughout the tropics are retreating, the local precipitation at all but one of these sites has increased over the last century. This is strong evidence that the retreat of the ice is driven by rising temperatures rather than by any reduction in precipitation, as had been suggested. [E]
European environment Europe suffers from some of the most polluted air and land in the world, and the costs of pollution control are constantly rising. A report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) suggests that if Europe were to tackle emissions as needed to halt climate change this would also provide huge savings in pollution control and in public health costs. However, the results from the EU's 2005 carbon trading scheme so far are disappointing and indicate that some EU countries are unwilling to play their part in setting appropriate targets and measuring their performance against them. [E][D][H][R][P][T][X]
Estuaries and coastal ecosystems The most comprehensive quantitative assessment of the state of estuaries and coastal ecosystems ever conducted has found that human activity over the centuries has depleted 90 percent of marine species, eliminated 65 percent of seagrass and wetland habitat, degraded water quality ten to a thousand-fold, and accelerated species invasions. The study covered twelve major estuaries and coastal seas around the world. On the positive side, the study suggests that in areas where conservation efforts have been implemented in the 20th century, there are signs of recovery, showing that there is some hope for the future if action is taken. [E][X]
Reducing need for fertilisers UK and US scientists have managed to trigger nodulation in legumes, a key element of the nitrogen fixing process, without the presence of the bacteria normally necessary. This is an important step towards transferring nodulation, and possibly nitrogen fixation, to non-legume crops in order to reduce the need for inorganic fertilisers. Intensive crop agriculture depends heavily on inorganic fertilisers and its production is highly energy intensive. [E][G] |
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| [R] Remote sensing and sensor systems | |
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Earthquake measurement by GPS US researchers have shown that the size of a large earthquake can be determined within 15 minutes using GPS data. This is much faster than is possible with current methods, and makes it possible to decide quickly whether a quake will generate an ocean-wide tsunami and whether to issue alerts. The method, called GPS displacement, works by measuring the time radio signals from GPS satellites arrive at ground stations located within a few thousand kilometres of a quake. Scientists can then calculate how far the stations moved because of the quake, and from this they can derive an earthquake model and the quake's true size. [R][D][E]
Detecting life in other solar systems A NASA-funded study has proposed that light from Earth-sized planets orbiting distant stars might be viewed directly by using a huge space-based star-shade. Dubbed the New World's Observer, the design would use a giant 45 metre daisy-shaped, plastic shield in tandem with a powerful telescope, trailing 15,000km behind. The shield would screen out the light from a star, allowing light from its planets to be seen and measured spectroscopically to look for signs of life. [R][A]
Detecting gravitational waves The three instruments of the European GEO 600 gravitational wave detector and the US Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) have begun their joint attempt to detect gravitational waves. IEEE Spectrum has published a review articles on how these extraordinarily sensitive instruments operate and on the challenge of detecting gravitational waves against the background of many forms of terrestrial disturbance. A confirmed detection of a gravitational wave would require the super-sensitive equipment at more than one of these widely spaced facilities - in Washington State, Louisiana and Germany - to record an event simultaneously. Hopefully, corroboration would also come from satellite detection of the gamma-ray burst expected to accompany the cataclysmic events that produce gravitational waves. [R][A][F][O][S][T]
Anti-matter and dark matter detector A newly launched detector called PAMELA (Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics) will search for cosmic rays of anti-matter that might show the existence of regions of anti-matter in the universe. Normal high-energy cosmic rays can create proton-antiproton pairs when they strike hydrogen gas in space. So to reveal the existence of antimatter regions, PAMELA will look for heavier antimatter particles, such as anti-helium, that almost certainly would have been forged in the early universe or in antimatter stars. PAMELA will also search for signs of dark matter in the form of neutralinos. [R][A][F][S]
Sensing emotion and intent Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed an "emotionally aware" computer system designed to read people's minds by analysing expressions. Visitors to the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition are being invited to help "train" the computer how to read joy, anger and other expressions. The computer, plus camera, locates and tracks 24 facial "feature points" such as the edge of the nose, the eyebrows and the corners of the mouth. A total of 20 key facial movements - including a nod or shake of the head, a raise of the eyebrow or a pull on the corner of the mouth - have been identified. Combinations of these movements, which are thought to represent underlying emotions, are then fed into software and used to detect the same facial combinations in real-life situations. [R][B][D][K][V]
Stealth radar Researchers at Ohio State have developed an ultrawideband radar that uses a very weak pseudo-random noise signal, making it virtually impossible to detect. The radar might be used to see through walls, measure vehicle speed, improve robot vision, or locate disaster victims under rubble, according to the researchers. They also hope that with further development, the radar might image tumours, blood clots, and foreign objects in the body, or be used to measure bone density. [R][D][E][H][S]
Ultrasound imaging and therapy Focused ultrasound can seal ruptured blood vessels deep within the body without the need for risky surgery. The US military is planning to use this to treat troops bleeding internally from wounds sustained on the battlefield. The device, using Doppler ultrasound imaging to locate internal bleeding, has to be lightweight and designed so that soldiers can operate it with minimal training. [R][D][H][S]
Infrared cancer screening A hand-held optical scanner that can be used for the early detection of breast cancer has been developed at the University of Pennsylvania. The device uses two LEDs that emit light in the near-infrared region of the spectrum between about 650 and 900 nm. These wavelengths can penetrate up to 5 cm into the tissue. The device is scanned over the breast and can detect a growing tumour because this contains more blood vessels and therefore absorbs more light. In a small pre-clinical trial, the device correctly detecting cancer in 92 percent of the patients. This is comparable to MRI and better than mammograms, according to the researchers. The scanner detects physiological changes that occur in the earliest stages of breast cancer and is also suitable for women under 40 who have denser tissue that is difficult to penetrate using conventional techniques. [R][H][O][S] |
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| [S] Sensor devices | |
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Heavy water sensor Scientists at Caltech have used an optical microresonator to create a sensor for detecting heavy water. The sensor, which even without optimisation is 30 times more sensitive than any other existing method, can detect one heavy-water molecule in 10,000 ordinary water molecules. The sensor may help in preventing nuclear proliferation. [S][D][P]
Biological sensors Brain cells can be enticed into forming uniform functioning patterns using nano-engineering. The technique could allow the development of sophisticated biological sensors that use functioning brain cells. [S][B][D][H][M]
Odour recorder Engineers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology are building an odour recorder capable of recording a smell and playing it back later. It uses an electronic nose to analyse the odour and can then reproduce it using a set of 96 non-toxic chemicals. One application is to give greater realism to virtual reality. [S][V]
Nanoscale pH sensor Using special optically-tuned nanoparticles that scatter laser light in a way dependent on their environment, Rice University scientists have created the world's first nano-sized pH meter. The discovery can potentially enable pH changes to be measured inside living tissue and cells, accurately in real-time and over a wide pH range from 1 to 14. [S][B][G][H][N]
Multiplexed DNA detection Research at Northwestern University show how biobarcoded nanoparticles, which up until now have proven useful only for detecting DNA mutations one at a time, can be used in a multiplexed system to detect and distinguish among four different viral DNA sequences simultaneously and can correctly identify even low levels of the target DNA. The researchers say that their results apply to any set of unique DNA sequences and it is possible to create billions of different biobarcode sequences, so that it should be possible to extend this assay system to detect and identify myriad gene mutations. The development of high-throughput schemes for detecting specific DNA sequences would have a dramatic effect on cancer research, cancer detection, and the monitoring of therapeutic efficacy. [S][G][H][N]
Nanoscale infrared spectroscopy Diffraction limits conventional infrared microscopy to a resolution of a few microns. However, researchers at the Max Planck have used scattering near-field microscopy (s-SNOM) to determine infrared spectra of nanoparticles and viruses with a resolution of around 30 nm. [S][G][J][M][N]
Monitoring nanostructure growth Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a new technique that could make it possible to rapidly and systematically map how changes in growth conditions affect the fabrication of nanometre-scale structures. The nanostructures are grown on a heated microcantilever that forms the tip of an atomic force microscope. This makes it possible to accurately measure the mass of the nanostructure from the change in the resonance frequency of the cantilever. The next step in the research will combine the growth and measurement processes to permit in situ study of mass change during nanostructure growth. The researchers say that it should be possible to use tens or even thousands of cantilevers in parallel to test different chemistry or growth conditions in a very short period of time. [S][M][N]
3D nano-microscopy An international team of researchers has used an x-ray microscope to create a 3D image of a nanocrystal. They used a technique called coherent x-ray diffraction imaging to create an image of a nanoparticle of lead that was just 750 nm across. When crystals reflect x-rays, the patterns formed can be inverted mathematically to create an image of the object in three dimensions, including of defects inside the crystal. The resolution achieved was 40 nm. The researchers say that, by developing better detectors and optics or more powerful x-ray sources, the method could be extended to atomic resolution. [S][N]
Nano-imaging Scientists at Oak Ridge have demonstrated that electromechanical imaging techniques, when operated in a liquid environment, can provide a resolution of up to 10 times that of the resolution when imaging in air. The liquid imaging method will allow high resolution studies of ferroelectric materials, as well as imaging electromechanical properties of biological systems, ultimately on the molecular level. [S][N]
Bi-directional single-electron ammeter Japanese physicists have made a device that can detect individual electrons that are flowing either forwards or backwards, allowing currents to be measured in the attoampere range for the first time. The device consists of two quantum dots and a "point contact". Electrons tunnel one at a time between the two quantum dots and the current through the point contact shows different values depending on which direction a single electron is travelling in the device. In this way, the researchers can precisely count single electrons in both directions. The device could have many applications, including nanoelectronics, calibration devices, quantum computation and biology. [S][C][J][N] |
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| [O] Optoelectronics, optics and lasers | |
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Nano light source Researchers at IBM and the University of Twente have observed intense infrared electroluminescence from localized defects along carbon nanotubes. The process is many orders of magnitude stronger than in bulk materials because of the one-dimensional character of the nanotubes and of the resulting strong electron-hole interaction. The researchers are hoping to develop electrically-excited nano-light emission sources and light detection devices. Applications may include optical interconnects in nano- and molecular electronics, cryptography, and spectroscopy of individual molecules. [O][G][J][N][S]
Photonic lasers Researchers in Japan are using photonic crystals to produce semiconductor lasers that emit a tailored beam pattern whilst maintaining single mode operation. They believe the lasers should prove ideal for a number of applications such as optical tweezers, microfluidics and ultrahigh-density optical memory. [O][J][S]
LED lighting Researchers at Cree have demonstrated a cool-white LED that achieves a light output of 131 lumens per Watt at 20mA. By comparison, conventional incandescent light bulbs are typically in the 10-20 lm/W range, while compact fluorescent lamps range from 50 to 60 lm/W. [O][E][P]
Mid-infrared source Scientists in Germany have developed a mid-infrared (4-5 µm) source offering up to 2 mW of continuous wave output that could dramatically reduce the cost of trace gas monitoring apparatus. According to the team, surface patterning of the device's optically-pumped lead selenide (PbSe) layer gives a six-fold increase in light extraction efficiency compared with untreated chips. They say the chip should be cheap enough for use in vehicle exhaust monitoring sensors and fire rescue imagers. [O][E][S]
Optical interconnect Researchers at QinetiQ have developed an experimental microstructured fibre that, they say, demonstrates excellent potential for optical interconnect. The fibres individual single mode cores are sufficiently optically isolated to avoid problems of cross-talk yet sufficiently close together to connect to terminals on a single chip. Possible applications include local area networks, storage area networks, connections to backplanes and chip-to-chip connections between electronic processors. The approach is suitable for use with either inhomogeneous systems, such as a mixture of silicon and III-V technology, or with all-silicon photonic/electronic systems. [O][C][J][M]
Fibre-mesh optical systems In a radical departure from conventional lens-based optics, MIT scientists have developed a sophisticated optical system made of mesh-like webs of light-detecting fibres. The fibre constructs, which have a number of advantages over their lens-based predecessors, are currently capable of measuring the direction, intensity and phase of light, without needing lenses, filters or detector arrays that are the classic elements of optical systems. [O][M][S]
Photonic microchip technology Cornell researchers have created a broadband light amplifier on a silicon chip. The amplifier uses four-wave mixing, in which a signal to be amplified is "pumped" by another light source inside a very narrow waveguide. The waveguide is a channel 300 x 550 nm, optimised by computer simulation and experimentation for light at wavelengths near 1,555 nm used in most fibre-optic communications. Amplification took place over a range of wavelengths 28 nm wide, from 1,512 to 1,535 nm. The researchers predict that other applications of four-wave mixing already demonstrated in optical fibres will now be possible in silicon, including all-optical switching, optical signal regeneration and optical sources for quantum computing. [O][J][N] |
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| [I] IT, communications, networking and secure systems | |
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On-chip wireless interconnect As chip geometries shrink, on-chip wiring becomes increasingly critical in limiting circuit speed. An alternative could be to use wireless interconnect. European researchers are seeking to exploit 'inverse electron spin resonance' to produce nanoscale microwave generators that can transmit signals wirelessly between components on the chip. The research may also improve the accuracy and speed of medical diagnostics by gathering data from health monitoring sensors. [I][B][C][H][J][N][O][S][V]
Communications electronics Researchers in the US have developed improved methods for accurately measuring very faint thermal noise in electronic circuits. The technique may help improve the signal range, data rate and battery life of cell phones and other wireless communications devices. Noise levels for CMOS transistors have, until now, been too low to measure accurately in much of their signal frequency range. As a result present CMOS circuits may be poorly matched to wireless transmission systems, resulting in significant signal loss. [I][J][S]
Exploiting ICT New information and communication technologies (ICT), such as HDTV, 3G phones and grid networking, are developing so rapidly that it is hard for counties and their governments to keep pace. Countries that do not keep up are likely, in economic terms, to be left behind. This is a problem for countries in SE Asia, which even though they may have a strong ICT product manufacturing base, have a long way to catch up in using ICT. [I][C][K][W]
Single European Electronic Market The European Commission has published a roadmap for establishing the Single European Electronic Market (SEEM) as part of the Single European Information Space (SEIS). Issues in SEIS include interoperability, security, legal and economic actions to encourage new services, and fast broadband to deliver richer content. SEEM is focused on interoperable layers to provide digital services in an open, neutral and standardised way. The roadmap is based on consultation with 1400 experts and stakeholders from 70 countries. [I][C][K][T][X]
Value of networks Metcalf's Law, that the value of a communications network increases as the square of N, the number of people connected to it, was originally a rule of thumb proposed in the 1980s to explain why small networks had to reach a certain size before their value exceeded their costs. But in the internet boom, Metcalf's Law was used erroneously to justify the huge growth in share values attributed to internet companies, based on numbers of users rather than profitability. With hindsight, the fundamental flaw was in assigning equal value to all connections and groups. A paper in IEEE Spectrum argues that the correct dependence of network value on size is around N log N, and that this depends on the extent to which clusters of users that interact strongly are already on a single network. This issue of added value is important for investment decisions by telecommunications companies on expanding their networks. [I][C][K][T][X] |
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| [K] Knowledge, information and technology management | |
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TV-internet convergence A mass personalisation system being developed by Google allows a computer to automatically provide personalised supplementary information related to any television programme a user is watching. The computer identifies the programme by listening to the ambient sound and picking up snippets of television audio that the system can recognise against a database of television soundtracks. As well as providing supplementary information and adverts tailored to the user's interest profile, mass personalisation could also allow viewers of the same show to link up on social networking sites. This would allow real time chat and allow fans to discuss and comment on shows as they are broadcast. [K][I][V]
Ambient intelligence A European project is developing an interactive multimedia system that provides information to people visiting a cultural site. The system works over the visitor's mobile phone and provides relevant text, videos, speech and pictures with 3D reconstructions. [K][I]
Online discussion analyser Software that follows an online discussion and picks out the most relevant post and the most influential participant could provide an automated synopsis of chat-rooms debates and email chatter. Online conversations are already in digital form and therefore provide good scope for developing automated conversation analysis. Researchers at USC report a prototype system that can automatically extract from the conversation the best answer to the questions discussed. In trials the system in its best implementation got the right answer (as determined by human inspection) 221 times out 314 conversations, compared to 87 out of 314 for random selection. The aim is that in the long term, systems will automatically produce reports and summaries of meetings. [K][I]
Mathematics and mother tongue In 2001, a study comparing Canadian and Chinese students found that the Chinese were better at complex mathematics. Brain scans have now revealed that Chinese speakers rely more on visual regions than English speakers when comparing numbers and doing sums. The researchers postulate that Chinese language’s simple way of describing numbers may make native speakers less reliant on language processing when doing mathematics. For example, “eleven” is “ten one” in Chinese “twenty-one” is “two ten one”. The use of the abacus in many Asian schools may also encourage the brains of students to think spatially and visually about numbers. The study suggests that brain imaging studies may be useful for revealing how to improve educational methods or tailor them better. [K][B]
Geometry of music A Princeton University musician has shown that advanced geometry provides a way of understanding musical structure and why particular chords and chord progressions sound pleasant to the ear. The graphical analysis uses non-Euclidean geometry with the number of dimensions needed to express the chord progressions being equal to the number of notes in the chord. In these maps, a single point corresponds to a chord, and every conceivable chord can be represented. The shorter the distance from one point in the map to another, the better the chord transition sounds to the ear. [K][B]
Scientific communication The European Commission has published a two-part 'survival kit' to help scientists communicate their activities to the public more effectively. The first part covers the challenges and techniques of communicating science, including the way that public perception and understanding of science have declined, the need to have a listening dialogue with society, the ways to win interest, the ethics of communication, and problems such as the counter-intuitive and non-common-sense nature of scientific thinking and the difficulty of explaining risk. It includes principles and tips on how to plan communications activities, how to explain complicated research in simple terms and how to use different forms of media, particularly TV, radio, the written press, museums and the internet. The second part is a "how to do it" guide to successful communication. It provides many practical tips aimed particularly, but not exclusively, at helping co-ordinators and team leaders in the EU Sixth Framework programme. [K][D][E][T][X]
Women in science and technology A panel established by a group of international scientific academies, has looked for common characteristics in women who have been successful in science and technology. Having examined biographies and interviews, the panel found the following common factors: an early fascination with science; independent thinking; early rejection of the cultural limitations imposed on girls and women; support from parents, particularly fathers; a good education, not infrequently in an all-girls environment; having a mentor; marrying a supportive husband; and having access to reliable childcare. [K][W] |
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| [C] Computing, supercomputing, modelling and simulation | |
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Quantum computer ion trap Using standard microfabrication techniques, NIST physicists have built a planar ion trap that can be easily mass produced, potentially enabling quantum computers large enough for practical use. The trap has gold electrodes that confine ions about 40 microns above the electrodes, and can trap a dozen magnesium ions without generating too much heat from electrode voltage fluctuations. [C][J]
Petaflop computation The most computationally intensive computer program ever developed has been put to work simulating the quantum behaviour of atoms. The program, called Qbox, runs on the world's most powerful supercomputer, Blue Gene/L, and reaches a sustained performance of 207.3 teraflops. It simulates interactions between 1000 molybdenum atoms in three dimensions under high pressure using equations that take the quantum behaviour of electrons into account. Its purpose is to help to assess the likely reliability of the ageing US stockpile of nuclear weapons. [C][D][M][P][X]
LHC Grid and EGEE The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is now scheduled to start operating in November 2007. It is expected that the LHC will produce on average some 15 million gigabytes of data a year. The challenge of how to store and analyse so much data has driven the creation of the LHC grid - a vast collection of high-powered computer systems scattered in nearly 200 research centres around the world, networked and configured to function as a single parallel processing system. The LHC grid is now the world's largest general-purpose scientific computing grid, and is getting bigger every month. The aim, through an initiative funded by the EU and called Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE), is to built on the LHC grid to create a massive global grid infrastructure that can routinely solve a great variety of problems in science, engineering, and industry. [C][E][G][H][I][K][T][W][X]
Animation A system that automatically generates a biologically accurate skeleton and muscles could help movie and games animators create characters who move more realistically, according to researcher at the National Centre for Computer Animation in Bournemouth, UK. [C][K][V]
Simulation of materials under pressure Recently Swiss researchers developed a novel simulation methodology based on the laws of quantum mechanics that can predict the structure of a material at any pressure-temperature conditions given just the chemical formula. They have now applied this to a number of chemically interesting systems including a series of chemical elements under pressure. This shows that the behaviour of the elements, and their chemical properties, change significantly under pressure. For example, normally inert platinum and xenon become highly reactive, potassium becomes a transition metal, while hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur become superconductors. The simulation is relevant to developing new materials and also to astronomy. Metallization of hydrogen under pressure is invoked to explain the magnetic fields of the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, and it is believed that metallic hydrogen should be a superconductor up to temperatures perhaps as high as 300 degrees C. [C][A][M]
Simulating galaxy evolution A supercomputer simulation of the evolution of the universe, produced by scientists at the University of Chicago, has shown how dark matter would have herded luminous matter in the universe from its initial smooth state into the cosmic web of galaxies and galaxy clusters that populate the universe today. Previous studies by other researchers had already verified the main features of this scenario. The Chicago team extended this work by comparing the results of their supercomputer simulations to the newest, most detailed astronomical observations available today. They found an excellent fit without needing to invoke lots of complex assumptions. [C][F][R] |
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| [W] Whole life engineering, manufacture and testing | |
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Design by simulated evolution The design of very complex systems could be improved by a combination of genetic algorithms with sophisticated methods of simulation and analysis, according to engineers at Oak Ridge, who have developed algorithms for designing nuclear reactors. Their algorithms first produce a population of reactor designs by randomising all the different design factors involved. Each design is then tested in a simulation for its "fitness", measuring its performance efficiency, running cost, safety and other parameters. The designs that perform best are mutated and recombined to create the next generation of designs. After many cycles, the potential of the most refined designs is evaluated by engineers. [W][C][G][K][P][X]
Automated system design Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) software design promises to populate the world's networks with many small, lightweight, reusable programs that can automatically combine to perform a vast range of complicated services, without human intervention. The challenge is how to find a robust, efficient and economical way to describe all these tiny programs to each other, and to alert other programs of their function. One particularly difficult problem is the level of granularity to be used for creating semantic descriptions of a service. Another serious problem is a lack of commonly accepted ontologies for different domains. [W][C][I][K][U][V][X] |
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| [X] Systems, complexity and risk | |
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Web extinction The World Wide Web is an example of a "complex network", with a topology that changes as new documents and links are continually added. According to an analysis by statistical physicists in the US and Hungary, the number of people who read news stories on the web decays with time in a power law, and not exponentially as commonly thought. Most news becomes old within a day and a half of being posted. The decay laws identified are likely to be generic because they do not depend on content, but are mainly determined by a user's visiting and browsing patterns. [X][K]
Dynamics of extinction Indian research shows that even widely separated populations of a single species will go extinct together if a common external force is applied. This theory helps explain why species were decimated on a global scale in previous mass extinctions and is bad news for conservationists hoping that some remnants of species currently being decimated might be able to survive in isolated areas. [X][E]
Evolution of cooperation Cooperation is a hallmark of human society and can also be found widely in the animal world. However, it has been a puzzle how evolution could produce cooperation, since simple models of evolution based on individual competition favour selfishness rather than cooperation. Now researchers have shown that evolution can favour competition if one also includes the effects of population dynamics. After running the model through 100,000 generations, the researchers found that altruists not only survived, but thrived and maintained their numbers over time. The model is simple and general; in principle it can be applied to explain cooperation at all levels of biological complexity, from bugs to humans. [X][C][D][E]
Non-equilibrium systems Thermodynamics lets one calculate the properties of a system, such as its temperature and pressure, without needing to follow in detail the countless interactions among its parts. However, this only applies for systems that are in equilibrium with their environment. Many important geological and industrial systems, such as avalanches, powders and plasmas, constantly lose energy to their environment through friction or heat-dissipating collisions. A macroscopic theory to describe such non-equilibrium systems would be hugely beneficial. French researchers have now shown that grains shaken on an uneven surface can freeze into crystal structures, and that the conditions for crystallization mimic the properties expected for real crystals. This close correspondence implies that the grain interactions obey the same overall principles as do systems in thermodynamic equilibrium. Although this system is special in that it has a uniform supply of outside energy, the findings give hope that studying such simple scenarios may provide the intuition for applying a thermodynamic framework to harder problems, like those in cell biology and the pharmaceutical industry. [X][F][M][P]
Complex systems In order to survive, biological systems need to form patterns and organise themselves. Scientists at the Max Planck have now combined self-organisation with chemical pattern formation. They coupled an oscillating chemical reaction with polymer-controlled crystallisation and self-organisation in barium carbonate. In this way, they proved that oscillating reactions can also take place in multi-phase systems. This helps to explain chemical reactions which are out of thermodynamic balance, as well as biological pattern formation in nature. [X][E][M] |
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| [V] Virtuality and human-machine interface | |
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Progress in virtual reality High performance virtual reality systems are still expensive and difficult to use, and they remain confined to specialist markets - notably in complex data-intensive applications in science, industry, defence and medicine. However, the use of medium performance virtual reality systems is now growing. This is helped by decreasing computing and storage costs, combined with less complex and more affordable technology. The main technology improvements still needed are better graphics and displays to provide good affordable immersive experience, more affordable tracking devices, and better tools for generating virtual reality software. [V][T]
Cell phones and driving Experiments using a driver simulator have concluded that motorists who talk on handheld or hands-free cellular phones are as impaired as drunken drivers. The study confirmed earlier research showing that hands-free cell phones are just as distracting as handheld cell phones because the conversation itself – not just manipulation of a handheld phone – distracts drivers from road conditions. The results, based on 40 drivers, showed cell phone users were statistically 5.36 times more likely to get in an accident than undistracted drivers. The main causes are inattention blindness to road situations combined with slower reaction times. [V][A][B][E][I][R]
Bionic limbs Scientists at UCL have developed technology that enables artificial limbs to be directly attached to a human skeleton. The technique, called Intraosseous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis (ITAP), involves securing a titanium rod directly into the bone. The metal implant passes through the skin and the artificial limb can be directly attached to it. The researchers discovered how to make the skin mesh around the titanium rod to form an infection-proof seal by studying how antlers penetrate through a deer's skin. [V][H][M][U]
Intelligent bed Japan has one of the highest rates of sleep deprivation in the world; a recent study found that sleep deprivation and insomnia costs the Japanese economy 3.5 trillion yen (30.7 billion dollars) a year, mainly in lost productivity. To help people to develop good sleeping habits, Japanese researchers have developed a pillow with embedded sensors that measure head and body movements and provide feedback on how much good quality sleep a user has had. The system analyzes slumber patterns and subsequently provides 40 kinds of advice and encouragement on a miniature screen. [V][B][H][S]
Neural-semiconductor system In an important step forward in neurochip prosthetics and neurocomputation, researchers Max Planck have created a hybrid neural-semiconductor system, by cultivating a thin tissue slice from a rat hippocampus region on a semiconductor chip. The chip has a very high density of sensory transistors enabling it to record the neural communication between the thousands of nerve cells in the tissue slice with high spatial resolution. The researchers were also able to observe how the neural network was influenced by various pharmaceutical compounds. [V][B][C][H][J][N][S] |
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| [B] Brain research and human science | |
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Ant pedometer Desert ants travel great distances over flat, sandy terrain searching for food. They have the remarkable ability to return to their nest using a direct route rather than retracing their outbound path. To perform this feat, the ants need to judge directions and distances. Research showed that they rely on the sky for orientation, but their means for measuring distance has remained a mystery. Now researchers in Germany have shown that the ants have an internal pedometer that somehow keeps track of how many the steps they have taken. This is probably part of their nervous system and gets reset each time they return to the nest. [B]
Mellowing with age In people over 50, the ageing brain reorganizes in ways that foster emotional stability and a tendency to favour positive emotions over negative ones. A brain area needed for conscious thought, the medial prefrontal cortex, primarily influences these emotional reactions. In contrast, younger people experience negative emotions more easily than they do positive ones. This activity centres on the amygdala, a brain structure previously implicated in automatic fear responses. [B]
Procedural learning Researchers have discovered that neurons in the brains of mice sprout robust new connections when the animals are adjusting to new experiences. The new connections alter the circuitry of the brain by changing communication between neurons. The findings help in understanding how mastering of new skills and other forms of procedural learning induce long-term rewiring of the brain. [B][K]
Rewired brain A study of the "miraculous" recovery of a man who spent 19 years in a minimally conscious state after a road accident has revealed that the adult brain has greater plasticity than previously thought. The study used a new brain imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which tracks water molecules and so reveals the brain’s white matter tracts. This was combined with more traditional PET scanning to show which brain areas were active. The results revealed that his brain had developed new pathways and completely novel anatomical structures to re-establish functional connections, compensating for the brain pathways that had been lost in the accident. [B][H][R][S]
Restoring lost nerve function In a dramatic demonstration of the potential of stem cells, a team at Johns Hopkins has engineered new, completed, fully-working motor neuron circuits, stretching from spinal cord to target muscles, in paralyzed adult animals. The research, in which mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells were injected into rats whose virus-damaged spinal cords model nerve disease, shows that such cells can be made to re-trace complex pathways of nerve development long shut off in adult mammals. [B][G][H]
Filter role of synapses It has been suspected that the synapses, which connect the axons of one neuron to other neurons, act as information filters and are not just dumb connectors. However experiments to confirm this has proved elusive. Now, research at the Salk Institute has found that the synaptic function depends strongly on temperature and the problem with previous experiments was that they were done at room temperature. Measuring the synaptic function at physiological temperature revealed that the two major types of synapses, excitatory and inhibitory ones, that were previously thought to always work against each other, act in concert to identify patterns carrying relevant information in an incoming signal. The synapses recognise bursts of neuronal activity and turn up their strength, acting like a switch. As a result, meaningful patterns are amplified, while stray noise disappears. This filtering function makes the brain's processing reliable. [B]
Molecular mechanism of hearing A protein, protocadherin-15, associated with a genetic disorder that causes deaf-blindness, may be the key missing-link in understanding how the ear converts sounds into nerve signals, according to a team of US and UK researchers. Their findings could help explain how excessive exposure to loud noise can cause temporary hearing loss, and may also explain why some people are more susceptible to noise-induced hearing damage. In the future, regulating levels of protocadherin-15 might provide a way to protect against age-related deafness. [B][G][H]
Transcranial magnetic stimulation US researchers report that the onset of a migraine attack can be quenched by interrupting it with a brief magnetic pulse applied at the back of the head. The handheld device delivers a strong electric current through a metal coil, which creates an intense transient magnetic field lasting about one millisecond. [B][H]
Alzheimer vaccine A DNA vaccine has successfully reduced the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mice. The vaccine uses a stretch of DNA that codes for the amyloid beta (Ab) peptide. In Alzheimer's disease, Ab peptides are overproduced, forming plaques in the brain that interfere with its function. A previous vaccine that raised antibodies against Ab peptides proved unsuccessful because it caused brain inflammation in some patients. The new vaccine should avoid this problem because DNA vaccination stimulates the immune system more gently than peptide vaccination. [B][G][H]
Neurodegeneration Surprisingly simple genetic abnormalities in the machinery of critical neuronal growth-regulating molecules called neurotrophin "nerve growth factors" (NGF) can kill neurons in Down's syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders, according to two new papers. The researchers found that the expression of only one gene, for amyloid precursor protein (APP), disrupts transport of the NGF. It might be possible that drugs influencing APP processing could in the future help to restore the retrograde transport of NGF and thereby reduce the cognitive symptoms in Down's syndrome, and possibly in other disorders. APP is a central molecule in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, and alterations in NGF or in the protein switches called Trk receptors that NGF activate have been reported in many neurodegenerative diseases. [B][G][H]
Pesticides and Parkinson's A prospective study of over 143,000 people found that those who reported exposure to pesticides had a 70 percent higher incidence of Parkinson's disease. Exposure to other occupational hazards, including asbestos, chemicals, acids, solvents, and coal or stone dust did not lead to an increased disease risk. Although the causes of Parkinson's are not well understood, it has long been suspected that environmental factors play a large role. Animal studies have shown that chemical compounds commonly used as pesticides can cause a degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons. In Parkinson's, a shortage of dopamine causes the disease's characteristic motor abnormalities, including muscle tremors and muscle rigidity. [B][E][H]
Treating Parkinson's disease In preliminary results, researchers have shown that a drug which mimics the effects of the nerve-signalling chemical dopamine causes new neurons to develop in the part of the brain where cells are lost in Parkinson's disease. The drug also produced long-lasting recovery of function in an animal model of Parkinson's. The findings may lead to new ways of treating Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases. [B][H]
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease is related to the loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain. Current treatments for Parkinson’s aim to boost levels of dopamine by giving people dopamine precursor chemicals. However, this treatment can create further problems by causing the natural production of dopamine to decline even further. Research has previously suggested that an overabundance of a protein called alpha-synuclein may be to blame for killing the dopamine-producing cells. Now a new study provides clues as to how this happens. Researches have found that excess alpha-synuclein seems to prevent a molecule from ferrying proteins within cells. The researchers believe this particularly harms the dopamine-producing neurons because dopamine is highly chemically reactive and, if it builds up in the cells, it can kill them. The findings offer hope of being able to develop new drugs to prevent or reverse the damage to the dopamine-producing cells. [B][G][H] |
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| [H] Healthcare and medicine | |
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Environment and disease A global survey by the World Health Organization has concluded that environmental risk factors play a role in more than 80 percent of the diseases regularly reported by the WHO. Globally, nearly one quarter of all deaths and of the total disease burden can be attributed to the environment. In children, environmental risk factors account for more than one-third of the disease burden. The report quantifies for the first time how specific diseases and injuries are influenced by environmental factors. In the main, these risk factors can be modified by established, cost-effective interventions, and the study provides a hit list of what should be tackled most urgently. [H][D][E][X]
Natural mosquito repellent Some fortunate people are rarely bitten by mosquitoes because they have large quantities of chemicals in their sweat that repel mosquitoes. UK researchers have now identified the most potent chemicals and have found that they not only repel the tropical mosquitoes Aedes aegypti – responsible for spreading yellow fever throughout Africa and South America – but also appear also to disgust the persistent biting midge that terrorises the west coast of Scotland. [H][E]
Plasma needle Research at the Eindhoven University of Technology has developed a plasma needle that works in air. They propose that it could be used to replace dental drills and to painlessly remove tumours, or could be sent down blood vessels via a catheter to clear blocked arteries. [H][M][P]
Testing for vCJD Researchers at the University of Texas have succeeded in detecting prion proteins in experimental animals just weeks after the animals were infected with the prions and months before they showed clinical symptoms. The technique, called protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), greatly accelerates the process by which prions convert normal proteins to misshapen infectious forms. The hope is that this could lead to a practical biochemical test that can screen people to detect if they are infected with common variant CJD and thereby keep contaminated blood and organs from spreading vCJD further. [H][G][S] Detecting incipient diabetes Raised levels of a protein RPB4 in the blood may provide an early warning sign of the development of insulin resistance, a major cause of type 2 diabetes and cardiovasc | |||